Are you considering hiring a professional lawn care company to maintain your lawn?

There are many different companies available to maintain your lawn and each company may offer slightly different services and at different prices. Some are licensed and insured to apply turfgrass plant products, but most are not. Check with the Michigan Department of Agriculture about the company you work with because you take on the liability if you hire an unregistered company.

What are the advantages of hiring Dan’s Green Side Up?

Service – it is a convenient way to maintain an attractive lawn, especially with today’s busy lifestyles.

Expertise – lawn care professionals should understand how plants grow and what it takes to create an attractive lawn.

Simplifies the confusing task of purchasing the proper fertilizers and or pesticides for your lawn.

Eliminates the time-consuming task of calibrating spreaders and sprayers to accurately apply products.

Eliminates the liability for proper storage of fertilizers and pesticides which should be stored in a locked, waterproof, and ventilated area.

Reduces the possible risks to our environment from inexperienced homeowners applying fertilizers and pesticides to their lawns.

Professionals can use some pesticides that are not labeled for home-owner use.

Are there disadvantages to hiring professional lawn care?

Some consider professional lawn care to be expensive.

With some companies, busy production may not allow for perfectly-timed application or services to fit the home owners schedule.

Some home owners enjoy working on their lawn. We offer a consultation service to help meet the needs of these dedicated homeowners to develop environmentally sound programs.

What should you look for in a quality lawn care service?

Reputation – check with friends or neighbors and ask for references to determine if a reputable company is serving your neighborhood.

License and insurance – the state of Michigan requires all lawn care companies to hold pesticide applicators licenses and liability insurance.

Membership in professional organizations such as the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA), Master Gardeners (MG), Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA), Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association (MiGCSA), and the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation (MTF). These organizations promote professionalism in the lawn and landscape care industry. They provide research and education on the latest lawn management techniques.

Knowledgeable applicators that are willing to share information with you. We have pride in our company’s ability to educate the home owner so you can help make the best decision for your property’s maintenance program.

Why do lawn care companies make applications at different times of the year?

The Michigan State University Extension agency may recommend an ideal time to apply a particular fertilizer and/or pesticide to a lawn. However, even though MSUE may recommend a specific week for a management practice, that practice is a general recommendation and could probably be done a couple of weeks earlier or later without sacrificing the desired effect.

Most lawn care companies often have many lawns to treat and thus, it is difficult to schedule an application at the exact time that MSUE recommends. Additionally, lawn care companies may apply the recommended rate of a product, but it may be applied in multiple separate applications based on nutrient analysis or release characteristic of the product.

What can I do to help my lawn care company make my lawn look better?

Working with a lawn care company is a partnership where the effectiveness of their work depends largely on how you maintain your lawn. No matter how much work a company does on your lawn, it can not be an attractive lawn unless you maintain at a level according to their instructions.

Do not apply extra irrigation, fertilizer or pesticides beyond that which is applied and/or recommended by your company.

Follow the company’s recommendations for irrigating, mowing, and re-entry period to a lawn area after an application.

Mow on a frequent schedule and at a height of 2.5 to 3.5 inches, Cutting more than a third of the turfgrass plant can be detrimental to the health of your lawn,